Press Release: Two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko Jason "El Canito" Sosa will battle for Lomachenko's WBO 130-pound title on Saturday, April 8th, at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, MD. The fight will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing. [Editor's note: Sosa holds the WBA's regular or secondary, title at 130 pounds, but his promoter, Russell Peltz told Boxingtalk the WBA will strip Sosa for going ahead with this fight]. Sosa said, "We understand that this is the most difficult fight of our career due to the fact that we are fighting the best fighter - Vasyl Lomachenko - in the history of amateur boxing. The beauty of all of this is that I only had three amateur fights and will prove to the world that we are by far the better fighter."

"I would like to thank Jason Sosa, who unlike the other champions, agreed to take this fight to determine the best in this weight division, even though everyone knows I am the division's Papi," said Lomachenko. "I moved up to 130 pounds hoping champions in this division were not cowards like those at 126 pounds. It looks like I was wrong. To all the other 'champions' in the 126 pound and 130 pound divisions, I say this to you, 'You are not champions, you are businessmen. Bad businessmen. By avoiding risks, you cheat the boxing fans and that is bad business.' I came to this sport to prove to myself and others that I am this big and loud champion. So, while all of you continue to hide from me, I am going forward to achieve my goals. My next step is on April 8th. See you there!"

"It will be exciting to see the great champion Vasyl Lomachenko back in the ring," said Egis Klimas, Lomachenko's manager. "We give Jason Sosa credit for stepping up to this challenge. We want to thank our promoter Top Rank and HBO for arranging this great event."

"Vasyl Lomachenko is history in the making. He is the greatest fighter in the world," said Lomachenko's promoter Bob Arum. "Vasyl is the total package -- power, balance, skills, and tricks. And he will need to be at his best against Jason Sosa who has the talent to match his guts for getting into the ring with Vasyl. The fans watching it live at MGM National Harbor or on HBO are in for helluva night."

Sosa's promoter, Russell Peltz, said, "I don't know why this fight is happening. All of the boxing experts tell me Jason Sosa won't win one second of any round and who am I to quibble with experts. They are probably the same experts who picked Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Funny things happen when the bell rings. Jason Sosa is a real fighter and real fighters fight. One of the problems in boxing today is that most of the fighters are not real fighters; they are businessmen. That's why guys ask for outrageous money to fight Lomachenko. Jason is cut from a different breed. He wants to find out how great he really is. What kind of fighter wouldn't want this kind of a challenge?"

Lomachenko (13-1 which includes the World Series of Boxing), of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine, makes his 2017 debut. In his last fight, on November 26, Lomachenko made his first defense of the WBO title, totally dominating Nicholas Walters. The previously undefeated former world featherweight champion quit on his stool after the seventh round.

Lomachenko captured his first world title -- the vacant WBO featherweight title -- on June 21, 2014, winning a decision over the previously unbeaten Gary Russell Jr. Lomachenko first gained international renown by winning gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games as a featherweight and a lightweight, respectively. He retired from the amateurs with a 396-1 record.

Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs), from Camden, NJ, and managed by Raul Chino Rivas, enters this fight riding a five-year, 20-bout unbeaten streak which includes 14 knockout victories dating back to 2011. Many local fans, who flock to his fights, consider Sosa to be one of the best fighters to come out of Camden since Dwight Qawi. Sosa's been a fan favorite since turning pro in 2009 because of his exciting and aggressive style, strong punching power. He captured the WBA super featherweight world title on June 24, 2016 in Beijing, coming from behind on all three judges' scorecards to knock out undefeated Javier Fortuna in the 11th round. He successfully defend the title in his last fight on November 19th in Las Vegas, winning a unanimous decision over Stephen Smith.